Speeches
Friday, 24 April 2026
SIDS and Kids SA and Red Tree Foundation thank you breakfast.
Rod and I, as joint patrons, are delighted to join you today at this Corporate Supporter Thank You breakfast for SIDS and Kids SA and its Red Tree Foundation.
As parents of four grown children, we know well the anticipation and joy in planning for a newborn’s arrival.
We have experienced the hopes that we have for our children, as we watch them grow and develop and see their aspirations fulfilled as we, as parents, provide encouragement and nurturing.
In that context we can only imagine what it must be like to suddenly experience the loss of a child.
The grief of unexpected loss runs deep, whether from the loss of a newborn, or sudden death of an older child.
Thankfully, organisations such as SIDS and Kids SA are there for prevention education about safe sleep practices and the Red Tree Foundation is there in support for people to navigate their personal loss.
There’s a metaphor by writer Jessica Watson that has been circulating widely who describes grief as being like a stone that you always carry in your pocket.
The world carries on around you. But the stone is always there. Sometimes the stone is lighter and at other times it weighs down what you do.
Thankfully, the Red Tree Foundation is here to make the stone lighter.
I will leave it to Andrew and Rachael to better outline the organisation’s achievements and to outline the future.
However, Rod and I must commend the Red Tree Foundation for introducing a peer support for bereaved fathers, who often feel overlooked in grief support services and struggle in silence.
The work of SIDS and Kids SA, and its interstate counterparts, is having an impact, with an 80% reduction in sudden unexpected deaths in infancy since 1989, however there is still work to be done.
Six babies every day in Australia are stillborn, which is higher than the national road toll, a sobering statistic.
Rod and I also commend Olivia Savvas, who is here today, whose dedication, and personal experience of the loss of a baby brother Benjamin, resulted in a Parliamentary Enquiry into stillbirth, delivering 22 recommendations to improve prevention, care, and support for families.
Thank you too to everyone here. Your support assists prevention and is helping to support families at a time of unimaginable loss.